In recent years, commercial transactions and sales of merchandises utilizing an internet environment has been actively conducted. In the sales of merchandises utilizing an internet, buying and selling a merchandise is conducted by a method in which a seller of a merchandise registers in a server (an administrator device) a web page (a virtual store) showing photographs or detailed information of the merchandise, a purchaser who intends to buy a merchandise makes an access, from a personal computer (PC) at home, mobile terminals or the like (a user device), a server on which a web page is registered, visits virtual stores to see the photographs or data of merchandises, creates prescribed order data if he or she finds a merchandise he or she wishes to buy, and sends the created order data to the server, and the seller of the merchandise who receives the order data sends the ordered merchandise to the purchaser by a prescribed method, and settles the account by credit cards or bank or postal transfer (see Patent Document 1).
In such a commercial transaction via an internet, a provider of merchandises enjoys benefits that he or she does not require to set up actual stores or employ store clerks or the like, and can provide information on merchandises for 24 hours, whereby he or she can significantly curtail the expense and as a result, can supply merchandises at a lower cost. On the other hand, a purchaser of merchandises enjoys benefits that he or she can freely visit virtual stores on the internet at home without the need of going out, can freely order whichever he or she likes whenever he or she likes, and can purchase quickly more inexpensive merchandise. That is, such a commercial transaction utilizing an internet allows both a provider of merchandises and a purchaser of merchandises to be able to conduct more beneficial transactions. For this reason, with the popularization and expansion of an internet environment, this type of commercial transaction via an internet has been rapidly widespread in recent years.
In addition, such virtual stores using an internet are also advantageous for parties who provide a variety of merchandises and services, such as actual stores, department stores and restaurants, since they serve as a significantly effective advertising tool which urges people to visit actual stores.
In the case of merchandise or service providers who have their actual stores or firms, in a web page published on an internet, a map showing the location of actual stores or firms is normally displayed.
Therefore, a user who is interested in a specific merchandise or service on the web page at first confirms the map showing the location of a store or firm which provides this merchandise or the service, and then visits the nearest store or firm. Accordingly, the page effect, layout, easiness in seeing of a web page showing a map have become very important factors for urging people to visit actual stores.
Under such circumstances, as for a map showing the location of a store or the like, a technology has been proposed in which a web page which shows only a map in more detailed and in more understandable manner is displayed as a link. According to this technology, a displayed map can be enlarged or reduced at an arbitral magnification, or can be moved to a neighborhood area, whereby convenient map information can be provided for a user (see Patent Document 2).    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2002-304537    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2001-005764
However, shops and stores on an internet are nothing but virtual, and the information on them are provided basically in letters. Even though photographs and video images of merchandises or the like are shown, they are just annexed or additional information.
That is, the web world on an internet is a world of letters which is far away from the real life. A user does not feel the sense of distance. This is the advantage but also is the disadvantage of the web world.
Recently, there are communication sites which require membership enrollment. The above problem is applied also to these sites.
In the stores on the web which are based mainly on letters, users cannot see each other. Therefore, users cannot be intuitive in dealing. Users may lose credit in transaction, and crimes occur frequently. However, effective means capable of solving these problems have not yet been proposed.
The inventors of the present application made intensive studies. As a result, the inventors have found that, by automatically detect a sufficient number of feature points from a plurality of frame images of motion pictures of actual streets, roads, buildings, stores or the like, and automatically tracing the feature points between each frame, CV value data indicating the position and rotation angle of a camera used for shooting the motion pictures can be obtained with a high degree of accuracy.
In addition, the inventors have found that, by using a video image to which this CV value data has been added (CV video image), it is possible to detect three-dimensional coordinates of an object in the video image, attach a tag (CV tag) freely to these coordinates, and input information to this tag. The inventors have found that, by doing the above, an object can be selected while watching the video image, a position to which a tag (CV tag) is attached can be set freely in a video image of an object or in a three-dimensional space of the video image, and a posture can be set, moved, retrieved and deleted.
The inventors have further found that, by distributing a motion picture on a web, attaching a CV tag having an icon function which has been created by CG, conducting bi-directional communication through a tag as a medium, distributing on a web a more realistic CV video image (and/or a three-dimensional video image) or a video image which can be three dimensional, overlapping a three-dimensional tag which is integrated with the video image keeping a positional relationship with the video image, and providing a plurality of layers in which the tag is arranged, it is possible to create a plurality of worlds in which a user can freely generate, select and distribute layers, other users can select this tag, a bi-directional communication becomes possible not in the virtual reality created by CG but in the familiar image of the reality, and a CV tag can be utilized as the doorway of information as a more intuitive user interface.
That is, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems associated with the conventional technologies, and an object thereof is to provide a CV tag video display device provided with layer generating and selecting functions which is capable of distributing a video image (CV video image) of actual streets, roads, buildings, the inside and outside of a store, allowing a user to attach a tag to or write information to an arbitral position in the video image (CV video image) as well as to set, in the video image (CV video image) in the same area, a plurality of layers which have been classified according to contents attributes, and providing a more realistic virtual space or virtual store, and therefore, is particularly suited to sales of merchandises or advertisement of stores or firms, providing town guide or map information utilizing an internet.